Elk Grove City Councilmember Stephanie Nguyen has made a career in public service. She has dedicated her life to the development of low-income communities across the Sacramento area. She attributes her drive to assist and uplift the underserved and underrepresented to her experiences growing up in similar neighborhoods. Despite those obstacles, Councilmember Nguyen has excelled in uplifting her community and has tirelessly worked to bridge the gap in representation. She has served in numerous leadership roles for several organizations in Sacramento and has been involved in many others such as the District Attorney’s Multi-Cultural Council, California Exposition Cultural Advisory Council, OCA, Pacific Rim Street Festival Foundation, Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber Foundation, and Sacramento’s Juvenile Justice Commission. However, one of her biggest contributions to the public has been through her work as Executive Director of Asian Resources Inc. (ARI).

As the Executive Director of ARI, Councilmember Nguyen and her team have been able to expand on a variety of social projects for members of the community with their mission statement as their guide: “At Asian Resources, our goal is to be the catalyst that connects people to jobs and resources that would lead them to self-sufficiency.”

While they have aided in the professional and academic development of younger individuals in the community through work experience programs and academic services respectively, they have also improved the partnerships between Sacramento County and community-based nonprofits to help close the achievement gap in multiple districts. What truly separates ARI from other non-profits is their commitment to ensure the community, as a whole, is represented and granted the opportunity in betterment, including those who are re-entering society.

ARI continues to address the issues facing minority communities by offering social services to those that otherwise would be continuously ignored. The plight of the immigrant and refugee communities with language barriers has not gone without assistance. Their work with these new members of the community is unmatched.

Councilmember Nguyen is a shining example of what community empowerment can look like. Under her leadership, ARI has continuously strived towards the betterment of the Sacramento community. For her continuous engagement and public service, we, the Sacramento County Young Democrats, honored her as our 2017 Community Champion of the Year.

For more information on how to get involved with ARI or if you wish to contribute please visit their website at http://asianresources.org/.